Although people see the Edwardian era as a golden age of peace, propsperity and tranquility, it was also one of hope and of new ideas, of inventions such as the radio and the aeroplane, and a fermant of activity in politics, social controversy and the arts. J.B. Priestley exmaines the personality of the monarch after which the Edwardian era is named, analyzes the legacy of the Victorian age, and discusses the contrast beyween High Society and what were called the Lower Orders.